By Jimitota Onoyume
PORT HARCOURT—RIVERS State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday, blamed the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission, RMAFC, for some of the tension in the South-South region.

Governor Amaechi who spoke in Government House when he received members of the Federation Account and Allocation Commission, FAAC, Post Mortem Sub- Committee, accused the body of occasional compromise on issues.
He said the Commission should discontinue this act for the peace and unity of the South South zone, stressing that the Commission manipulated the revenues of oil states.

Amaechi who urged those in position of trust to do their job in a responsible manner, said they should not allow any body to influence them in the discharge of their assignments.

He said: “The commission should please leave us alone. We don’t need to visit revenue mobilization offices for us to get our money. Do your work and let us do our work, stop manipulating the revenue of the states under the influence of individuals for material gains.”

The governor who appealed to the Revenue Commission to stop encouraging state governors to visit them at night or in the daytime in their offices, blamed it for taking 86 oil wells belonging to Rivers State to Akwa Ibom State, 45 to Abia State and some to Bayelsa State, because the Rivers State governor did not visit their office.

He said: “Let me tell you what you have done. You have made a state like Cross River not to be an oil bearing state just because of an influence. It is absolutely not proper.”

Amaechi, however, regretted that he was speaking at a wrong forum as he was expected to be a good host, stressing that the matter was still before a court of competent jurisdiction. He noted: “I am waiting for the court’s decision, when it is over, I will state my position clearly.”

The governor wondered how Soku Community in Rivers State, could be said to be in Bayelsa because of the intention to give revenue from the gas plant in the area to another state, stressing that this happened “because the governor does not come to Abuja to negotiate.”

Earlier, the Leader of the Federation Account Allocation Commission, FAAC, Post Mortem Sub_committee team “B”, Chief Nimi Dambo_Kalabo, said the committee, which was created in 2004 for the purpose of critically analyzing the monthly return of revenue generating agencies, had recovered more than N1.5trillion for the Federation account.